Gerald Cruse

“There is a conflict and tension between where within the hospital those patients should be receiving their care. A proportion of these patients require admission to a surgical ward due to the elements of their care which require surgical oversight and management, for example, analgesia through an epidural, insertion of a chest drain. However, this group of patients have multiple co-morbidities and complexities due to their age, which would be better managed by a medical team specialising in care”

“Patients falling in hospitals and sustaining injuries which lead to their death remains a matter of grave concern”

“The paramedic working within the cohort area did not complete a falls risk assessment in accordance with the JRCALC guidelines following the admission of a patient who had just had a fall at home”

“The other two ambulance staff did not seem to understand that Mr [name redacted] was a falls risk, they did not consider that he was at a greater risk of falls and did not consider that any further action should have been considered or taken”

“An investigation took place but the staff did not identify any learning and did not undertake the case study to help them identify such patients in the future. Bristol Ambulance Emergency Medical Services still run some cohort areas alongside South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust, and continue to convey patients to hospital. The evidence given on behalf of this organisation did not provide reassurance that this is a matter which the ambulance service have adequately addressed. There is a”